Second Highest-Rated NBA Finals Game 6 Ever on ABC

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NBA Finals Game 6 on ABC – the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs to even the series in an overtime thriller – scored a 14.7 overnight rating, according to Nielsen. This is the second highest-rated NBA Finals Game 6 ever on ABC and the fourth highest rated game ever on the network.

Game 6 is also expected to mark the 36th consecutive time an NBA Finals telecast has won the night for all of television and is the 24th straight time it has delivered double-digit overnight ratings. The game peaked at a 19.8 rating from 11:45 p.m. – 12 a.m. ET.

Last night’s game trails only Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers Game 7 in 2010 (18.2), Los Angeles Lakers-Detroit Pistons Game 5 in 2004 (15.5) and Miami Heat-Dallas Mavericks Game 6 in 2011 (15.0).

NBA Finals Game 6 scored strong local ratings with a 47.6 metered market rating in San Antonio and a 35.4 in Miami. In addition, ABC’s Kia NBA Countdown pre-game show delivered a strong 4.4 overnight rating, up 16 percent from the pre-game show prior to 2011 NBA Finals Game 6 (3.8).

ESPN digital growth continues

Game 6 of The Finals on ABC live through special simulcasts on ESPN3 was the largest NBA game of the season to date and of any NBA Finals game in 2012 with over 25 million total minutes and an average minute audience of 129,000 across computers, smartphones, tablets and Xbox (source: Adobe SiteCatalyst). Additionally, NBA content across ESPN digital platforms generated over 100 million total minutes, the largest single day of the NBA Playoffs and nearly half of which were consumed on mobile properties. NBA content on ESPN.com also logged an average minute audience of 22,000 (up 211 percent compared to Games 1-5).

The 2013 NBA Finals will continue with the decisive Game 7 on Thursday, June 20, at 9 p.m. on ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3 and WatchESPN. The telecast will be preceded by Kia NBA Countdown at 8:30 p.m. on ABC and ESPN3.